Destined For Doom

Chapter 4 - Revelations

-4-

-Revelations-

The sports car pulled into a small garage in the outskirts of Tokyo, only when the door automatically closed, cutting them off from the street, did Abigail get out. Inside the garage were an assortment of strange, occult things that would definitely be put down as Satanic by anyone that saw them.

A pentagram was carved into the ceiling, while strange symbols from dozens of different cultures were scattered at different points.

"Protection," the witch explained when she saw Madeline staring nervously, "Don't worry, none of it works on non-magic humans like you."

"I don't recognise some of these glyphs," Akane commented as he got out as well, "I assume they're new?"

Abigail nodded, "Relatively, though I assume that anything younger than eight-hundred years is new to you. Come on you two, I'll tell you everything inside."

They both followed the witch inside a surprisingly luxurious apartment. Aside from the medieval artefacts and randomly carved symbols it actually looked pretty normal.

"Answer her questions first," Akane murmured, sitting in front of a crackling fireplace and staring into the flames, "I need to think for a moment."

Abigail inclined her head with a small nod, gesturing for Madeline to take a seat on the chair opposite her.

"Fire away," the witch nodded as the cat jumped up onto her lap.

"Umm... Magic. Can you tell me about it?"

"Certainly. Everyone has a soul, and magic is the manipulation of a soul's energy. Mana, chi, chakra, it's got different names around the world. This energy can be manifested in many ways, depending on how the user has learned to produce it. Expend too much power and you die, simple as that."

"Can anyone use this power?"

"Theoretically yes, but it takes years of dedicated practice. The modern day witch is three parts spell-caster and one part physicist; the knowledge necessary to calculate that amount of energy is pretty mind-numbing. It's like playing an instrument, if you're talented then you're good as gold, but some people just never get the hang of it. Some magic wielders can rely on natural talent like Akane, but others can choose to supplement their power with an enchanted item or animal. I do this with Sabbath," she gestured to the cat, "He's my Familiar. Witches have been using Familiars for hundreds of years to aid in their spell-casting. He's a lot more intelligent than an ordinary cat, and he can certainly hold his own against most when he feels like it."

"Sabbath?" Madeline repeated the name, "kind of fitting for a witch's cat I suppose."

Abigail laughed, "No, I just have really good taste in music." She pointed over her shoulder to the Black Sabbath poster on the wall, "I was going to call him Ozzy but he didn't really like that name."

"Oh. Well who were those guys back at the hotel? Why did they want me?"

"They were assassins, they were after you because you released Akane. I'm not sure who sent them, but Koyane's men wouldn't have been far behind."

"Koyane? That's my grandfather's name! What does he have to do with all of this?"

Akane stepped up, walking over onto the couch beside Abigail and taking a seat. "I believe I should explain this, but first you need to understand how I came to be trapped inside that statue. It's a long story, but I'll try to keep it as short as possible."

"By all means," Abigail nodded.

"When I was a child I lived in a small village with my mother and sister. We lived in peace, and for a time things were almost enjoyable. One day, when I was six years old, a stranger came into the village looking for a student. He was a Shinigami named Kento. The Shinigami are powerful death spirits; the eastern equivalent of Reapers, and this one caught my scent the moment he came within fifty miles of the village. He sensed my potential for magic, and came to my house at night. My mother refused to sell me into his service, so he left. For a while l though that would be the end of it, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Weeks later my mother fell sick, and nobody could figure out why or how to cure her; but I knew."